Bonaparte's Belle Read online

  Bonaparte’s Belle

  Heroes for Hire, Book 24

  Dale Mayer

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  About This Book

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  About Noah’s Nemesis

  Excerpt from Ryland’s Reach

  Excerpt from Damon’s Deal

  Author’s Note

  Complimentary Download

  About the Author

  Copyright Page

  About This Book

  Sheriff Angela Zimmerman is not what Bonaparte expects when he arrives in her district. But he was here to help her out at Levi’s request. A little matchmaking by Levi was going on too but didn’t change the fact that she was in trouble.

  When Levi said he was sending a man over, she didn’t realize he meant this gentle mountain of a man. Still Bonaparte was confident and capable, and that’s what mattered. Something rotten was happening in her town, and getting to the bottom of it alone was nearly impossible. Especially when all her deputies had been coerced to quit.

  Sensing something much bigger was going on is one thing, but proving it is another. So the two set out to get the proof they need—no matter the danger. No one expected what they found …

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  Prologue

  Bonaparte Gasparde was happy for Zack and Zadie. It’s not what he had expected when they’d started this mission, but, once he’d seen the sparks flying between the two of them, he knew there would be no other way for this to end. Zack looked like he had a whole new lease on life, and Bonaparte was happy for his friend.

  Bonaparte had returned to the United States with them and had spent a few weeks lost, until Levi suggested he stay and do a couple jobs, at least until he figured out what he wanted to do, now that he hadn’t upped again in the navy.

  Being here was hard in a way. His introspection into his prior relationship was brutal. Yet he’d seen so many beautiful couples at Levi’s place that Bonaparte wondered if he was half inclined to stick around in case some of that pixie dust might fall his way.

  Just then Levi walked into the kitchen. “Hey, how are you doing? Everything okay?”

  “I’m good,” Bonaparte said.

  “So how do you feel about heading outside of Denver to help out a friend?”

  “What’s going on there?” he asked.

  “Another case gone wrong.” Levi sighed, as he sat beside Bonaparte. “Actually a favor for the sheriff of a small town.”

  “What kind of a problem? Need a bodyguard or what?”

  “Oh no, nothing like that,” he said. “The sheriff just needs someone to deputize for the short-term, having told the town that new staff was on the way, so they’re expecting somebody, yet nobody is actually coming.”

  “What, so I’d be like a relief deputy for what? A week or two?” He shrugged. “I’ve never been in that role before, but how hard can it be? I’m game.”

  “Yeah, but you’re walking into a trap,” Levi said. “It was one of reasons for saying backup was coming, but it’s also the reason it hasn’t happened. It’s a dangerous situation, and anybody the sheriff brings in could have their hands full.”

  “Great,” Bonaparte said, straightening up with a big grin. “Sounds like my kind of job. Who’s the sheriff?”

  “Her name is Angela Zimmerman,” Levi said. “She’s hell on wheels and happens to be an old friend, so do what you can to keep her alive.”

  “A female sheriff, sounds like fun.”

  “Angela is good people. She comes down on the side of right every time.”

  Bonaparte pursed his lips. He had no reason not to go. In fact, it would be better than sitting here and reviewing his failed relationships.

  “Listen. Don’t let one poisonous nutcase spoil you for all the beautiful flowers out there.”

  Bonaparte laughed at that. “I doubt that Ice would appreciate being called a flower, and I sure don’t see my ex-wife like that.”

  “So true,” Levi said, with a grin. “And good on the ex. Now go give Angela a hand.” He stood, and they shook hands. “At the bare minimum, this job should keep you busy, and I know you always love helping the underdog. I can guarantee you that Angela needs help.”

  “Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?”

  Chapter 1

  Bonaparte followed Levi’s directions, including picking up a special truck, suitable for the would-be deputy, waiting for him at the airport. Once he left the city limits of Denver, he headed for the small town to meet Sheriff Angela Zimmerman. It was a heck of a name. He wanted to call her Angel or Angie, but Levi had warned him that she wasn’t a nickname kind of person.

  On the whole trip, Bonaparte had been wondering if that meant she wasn’t the warm or cuddly type. He didn’t know why the hell he was even thinking along those lines anyway. Deb, his ex, had been very cuddly. She was the kind of small bundle who liked to sit in his lap and just curl up and snuggle. But she hadn’t been all that great at getting up when work was to be done. She had been all about being the little princess, not so much about being a partner. But they had two wonderful kids, and he enjoyed every freaking minute he had with them.

  They would be coming in another few weeks for the summer holidays, and that was something he had to figure out too. Having left the navy, he found a house not too far from the compound that he would share with his kids. But, so far, Bonaparte had just been enjoying time with Levi and his crew. And now Bonaparte was heading to this job, where he would be deputized, … whatever the hell that would mean.

  When he pulled into town and found the sheriff’s office just on the side of the street, he turned and parked, then hopped from his truck. A black half-ton pickup, it was dusty as hell. He shook his head. He would wash it very soon. It wasn’t good for a vehicle to be covered like it was. He normally took really good care of his equipment, and he hated to see something like this sit around dirty.

  He hitched up his jeans and took a slow look around. There was a problem all right, but he hadn’t been given too many details, just that Angela needed help and somebody she could trust. Well, he was trustworthy; she could count on that. If Angela came down hard on the side of right, then he would be right there with her. He kicked a rock out of the way and walked slowly up the long wooden steps to the big veranda out front. There was a very western look to the area, which surprised him. He walked into the office and stood there at the entrance. Not a soul to be found. He took a few steps forward, surprised that the door was even unlocked when empty, when a thirtysomething woman rushed out of the back, a beaming smile on her face.

  “Sir, may I help you?”

  “I’m here to see the sheriff,” he said, in a slow drawl, his hands on his hips as he studied her.

  “Angela,” she said, with a nod. “Hang on a moment.” She disappeared into an office down at the end of the hallway. A few minutes later she rushed back out and smiled at him.

  “She’ll be out in a minute.” She motioned at the hard bench along the front window. “Feel free to take a seat.”

  He looked at her and nodded.

  He didn’t move; he just stood here, studying his surroundings. He was a big man, which was an understatement, and he had a tendency to dwarf everything around him. However, this office was mostly empty, with ju
st the odd desk here and there, so it felt spacious and comfortable. Its old worn hardwood floor had seen more than a few people tread its wooden surface.

  When the sound of a long-legged clip came toward him, he raised his head, and one eyebrow shot up. Angela had to be at least six feet tall. Long, lean, with an almost raw-boned look. But her skin was fresh, the look in her eyes direct and level. And, if she had long hair, it was hard to see because it was kept back in a clip at her neck.

  He smiled at her and said, “Bonaparte. At your service.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Wow,” she said, “follow me, please.” Angela ignored the curious gaze from the woman sitting at the front desk, watching their every move. Angela immediately pivoted on her heel and walked back to her office. He followed the jean-clad figure, wondering what would put a woman like her in the office of county sheriff in the first place and, more important, what kind of trouble she could be in.

  As she walked into her office, she held the door open for him. When he stepped in, she pointed at the visitor’s chair and closed the door with a sharp click behind him. Then she walked around her desk, sat down, and pushed a button on a small machine to her side.

  He looked at it, then at her, his gaze hardened. “A frequency jammer? Are you really expecting that level of trouble?”

  Her gaze was equally hard, and she gave a clipped nod. “Yes.”

  As soon as the buzzer on the machine stopped, she nodded, pushed it off to the side, then settled back and interlocked her fingers, while she studied him.

  He waited. If she wanted to play that game, he could too.

  “Did Levi tell you what’s going on here?”

  “Not exactly, no. Levi said that you were in trouble, that you were an old friend, and that you were somebody who firmly came down on the side of right,” he said, paraphrasing. “I do too. So, if you need help, I’m here.”

  “And just you?”

  He gave her a wolf of a smile. “Just me.”

  Her grin was almost as feral, as she looked at him and nodded. “Okay,” she said, “in that case, I’ll accept it gratefully.”

  “Where are your deputies?”

  “Run off,” she said. “Every one of them threatened, their families threatened as well.”

  He stared at her in shock.

  She nodded. “I’ve contacted the sheriffs in two neighboring counties. Both of them told me to lay low and to not cause any trouble. And that they’d been threatened as well.”

  “Did you go above them?”

  “No,” she said. “Nobody here likes a woman sheriff to begin with.”

  He settled back with a nod. “So you don’t want to give in.”

  “Would you?”

  “Well, it would never have happened to me,” he said.

  Her gaze narrowed, and then she gave a nod again. “It’s sexist, but that’s true. It wouldn’t,” she announced. “But I don’t think you’re the kind who would let anybody run you out of town either.”

  “No, not likely. What kind of trouble?”

  “What kind of trouble do you want?” she said bluntly. “It’s all here.”

  “It looks like such a small sleepy town,” he said, with a drawl.

  She laughed. “Actually it is. Or it was. Until some wannabe badasses moved in and started terrorizing everybody.”

  “And you can’t throw them in jail?”

  “Well, I would if I could get some actual evidence, but these two have a lot of friends and access to a lot of money. So the town is terrified of them, and I’ve been warned to just get up and leave or else.”

  “But that’s not your style.”

  “Not mine, not yours, not Levi’s.”

  “Good enough,” he said. “Okay, what do we need to do to get evidence, so we can pick up these guys and toss them in the clink?”

  “If we toss them in the clink, we better have enough evidence to hold them because they’ll be lawyered up and shouting for bail within minutes.”

  “And what kind of bail are we talking about here?”

  “If they’ve done what I think they’ve done, I’d like to see it go as high as one million dollars.”

  He let out a slow whistle. “So, murder?”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice gentling. “Murder.”

  “Of whom?”

  She opened a drawer on the side and pulled out a file about one-quarter-inch thick. She flipped it open and handed him the clipped papers from the top. “Here’s a copy of the notes I have so far,” she said. “These are cases involving people I can connect to them, … in theory at least. Two are my best bets. This operation has been going on locally for over a year.”

  “But no proof?”

  “Not enough,” she corrected. “This has to be a locked-down airtight case.”

  “And these are all …” He looked at the photos and said, “They’re all old people.”

  “They are, indeed, and, in all cases, these are people who stood in the way in some fashion.”

  “These guys wanted their properties?”

  “I don’t know whether they are after the properties, the businesses, or the land. It’s not as if they’re talking. But they’ve done this before. They’ve gone into various towns, bought up a lot of land, razed a lot of old homesteads, and put in modern facilities.”

  “And is your town against that?”

  “Not at all,” she said, “except that most of the people involved weren’t interested in selling. One was and he’s alive still, in a nursing home.” She nodded at the faces in photos he held. “None of the others wanted to. Not a one.”

  He frowned, as he continued to look at the photos. “Money usually talks, and, if these assholes have money, why wouldn’t they have tried that?”

  “All of the deceased were born here,” she said, “and spent their whole lives in those homes.”

  “So couldn’t these guys just have outwaited them?”

  “Did I tell you that they were young? Like, I mean, they’re young. As in, they have absolutely no intention on waiting for anybody to die of natural causes before they can implement their plans.”

  “And I suppose young and wealthy goes along with cocky and arrogant?”

  “Absolutely,” she said, and she laughed. “Sounds like you understand the problem already.”

  “Oh, hell yeah,” he said. “We’ve seen guys like this before. Generally they’re not as well organized though, and don’t move from town to town.”

  “I think they work on a premise of fear and intimidation,” she said. “What I haven’t figured out yet is what they want to do with these properties. Because, so far, nothing’s happening, other than a direct geographical connection to three parcels.”

  “Same thing in the previous towns?”

  “I don’t know that the previous properties were geographically connected. Need to check that out. Their MO has been to buy up all the properties they could, and, some of which they’re just sitting on. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, except that it’s all really prime real estate. Some are off the highway just out of town, like a place you’d see a large diesel gas station or something like that. But that takes money too.”

  “But you said they have money?”

  “Sure. They certainly seem to, but I don’t know whether they have millions, billions, or trillions at this point in time,” she said, with a wave of her hand.

  “I’ll look into their portfolio and see just where they’re at,” he said, pulling out the sheet with the list of the names. “Brothers?”

  “Yes,” she said. “And their father was Marcus Gapone.” At that, Bonaparte lifted his gaze and stared at her in shock. She nodded. “Yeah, one of the notorious crime bosses. These two cut their teeth on that shit, and now they’re here in my town.”

  “Wow,” he said, settling back. “When you bite into trouble, you really take a big bite, don’t you?”

  “I’ve never been one to walk a fine line of niceties,” she said, “but I’ve alwa
ys been fair. These people make my skin crawl. And make me pissed off and angry.”

  “You know that they won’t go down easy, right?”

  “Of course I do. And I also know that they’ll do everything possible to slide their way out of it. So we either get that evidence we need, or it’s a lost cause.”

  “Even with the evidence,” he said, “don’t count on any witnesses because they’ll pressure them into not testifying.”

  “I know,” she said. “I have my suspicions that they have experience with witness intimidation in the past. Potentially with deaths occurring.”

  He whistled. “Are you working with anybody else on this?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve kept it very close to the vest, up to this point.”

  “Is that because you don’t want anybody else to know because you’re afraid somebody will do something to you or because you don’t know who to trust?”

  She laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “All of the above.”

  *

  Angela studied the man in front of her. The photo Levi had sent her one year ago didn’t do him justice. He was a monster of a man—but with a sense of purpose, a sense of assurance that he could handle whatever went wrong in his world. A part of her wished she had the same sense. But something about being targeted and having her entire staff walk out definitely left her sitting here, realizing just how vulnerable she really was. But instead of making her even more afraid, it just pissed her off so much more.

  When she had finally broken down and told Levi what the hell was going on here, he had suggested that Bonaparte come and give her a hand. She wasn’t sure why he had been chosen, but, as she saw the mountain of a man in front of her, she wasn’t at all unhappy with Levi’s choice. She should have let Levi introduce them a long time ago, when he’d first brought it up, but she’d put it down to Levi’s matchmaking.

  Now she needed this man for a whole different purpose. The man looked like he hated all kinds of injustice and would go to bat for any underdog. If she needed one thing right now, it was somebody strong at her side. A set of brains to give her a hand to figure this out was nice too.